CHIBUOGWU NNADIEGBULAM – AIPS** / PARIS: Ecuador’s Brian Pintado and China’s Yang Jiayu have become the first two athletes to earn World Athletics’ prize money for Olympic champions after they won the men’s and women’s 20-kilometer race walk respectively. Each will receive $50,000 with World Athletics insisting it made the “right decision” in April to become the first international federation to award prize money at an Olympic Games.

World Athletics ceo Jon Ridgeon was not surprised by the criticisms that trailed their “landmark decision”, with many stressing that it goes against the Olympic spirit.

He said: “A key part of our strategy for the last few years is to make sure that we reward our athletes. They are the stars of the show and as our income grows they deserve to show a part of that. If you look at our existing world championships beyond the Olympic Games, we’re spending $24m million in prize money and we felt the athletes should be rewarded in the Olympics in the same way that they are awarded in the world championships. It’s the right thing to do.”

Ridgeon added: “I know there has been some concerns that perhaps we were taking money away from development to put into prize money. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Over a four-year period, World Athletics has already spent more than $50m in development. Our intention is to increase that money going forward.

“So we see that both can coexist perfectly in terms of making sure that athletics is a vibrant way for our leading athletes to make a living because they put on an incredible show, but at the same time, we’re very focused on working with our 200plus member federations around the world to make sure that athletics is developed.”

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said: “I’m really surprised that people don’t see the correlation between athletes of high profile that are comfortable and whose welfare is being looked after, and their ability to perform and raise the profile of the sport and add to the broadcast revenues and the sponsorships that come in.

“It’s not complicated to recognise that the athletes need to be reflected in that proceeds of growth. I find nothing particularly strange about it.”

Prize pot

The total prize pot of $2.4m comes out of the International Olympic Committee’s revenue share allocation, which the World Athletics receives every four years.

Each individual Olympic champion will receive $50,000 while relay teams will share the same amount. If there is a shared gold medal, as was the case at Tokyo 2021 with Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi in the men’s high jump, Ridgeon said the athletes would share the prize money as well.

World Athletics plans to extend bonuses to the silver and bronze medallists at the next Olympics in Los Angeles.

For Coe, it is important to “drive the innovation agenda”, hence he is not concerned about the impact of shoe technology on the sport that has seen athletes going faster, higher, and farther.

He said: “It’s the evolution of technology and for the very first time we now have an evaluation team at World Athletics that is working alongside the shoe companies and we work very well together. We talk to the athletes, we talk to the coaches and we created regulations – they’re not perfect, but I think that is the way technology works.

Keeping balance

“As an international federation, or any organization in a civilization I don’t think it’s best to try to strangle innovation and technology and the shoe companies are a very important part of our landscape. I think there’s a balance to be struck and we will continue to monitor that.”

Michael Johnson recently launched a new global league called Grand Slam Track. Coe does not see it as a rival to the Diamond League run by World Athletics.

Coe said: “I don’t see fresh investment as being anything other than the collaboration not rival. I think we should be comforted by the fact that in the last few years the ecosystem of athletics has suddenly become an attractive proposition for external investments and that’s a good thing.

Any additional event, which we will of course welcome has to have a quality threshold, has to work for the athletes, has to work for the broadcasters. And this is a complicated landscape… If people are going to come into this landscape I welcome them. It’s a good sign that the sport is heading in the right trajectory.”

Exciting programme

The race walk events ushered in what is expected to be 11 days of exciting athletics action at the Paris 2024 Olympics. At Tokyo 2020, three world records were set in the sport – Karsten Warholm in the men’s 400m hurdles; Sydney McClaughin-Levrone in the women’s 400m hurdles; and Yulimar Rojas in the women’s triple jump – and it is expected that Paris 2024 would witness more.

Eliud Kipchoge could become the first man to win athletics medals at five Olympic Games. If the Kenyan wins his third consecutive marathon gold medal he would join Usain Bolt as the only Olympians to win three consecutive gold medals in an individual running event.

** AIPS, the international sports journalists association, is celebrating its centenary after being founded during the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris.

############